The context of the Pact of Biak na Bato

by Tommy Matic IV

"What is it that you want, Don Pedro? That there be peace and that you be the one to bring it? After they have killed my brother Jose, ejected my family, confiscated our lands? Ah, Don Pedro, dig a deep well and fill it in with all the knives and spears in the world. Then ask me to jump into it and this Paciano Rizal will obey gladly. But never ask me for peace and the end of the Revolution, because it is impossible, absurd!"

- General Paciano Rizal upon meeting Pedro Paterno in Biak-na-Bato and refusing the handshake proffered by Paterno (thanks to Raywollesen Terco Fortes for this initial post).

It’s also important to remember the context of the Pact of Biak na Bato.

At the beginning of 1897 the Filipino Revolutionaries had liberated Cavite and put the Spaniards on the defensive. The Aguinaldo brothers were leading expeditions to Taguig and Pateros and other Katipunan branches were gaining strength and consolidating their local gains.

Of course, Spain would not just let them get away with it. Upon the outbreak of Revolution, former Governor Blanco called for reinforcements which came in the form of 15 expeditionary rifle battalions - the Cazadores. By the beginning of 1897 the new Governor General Polavieja and his field commander Lachambre were ready to go on the offensive.

With the experience of 1896 behind them, the Magdalo realized that only a single unified chain of command that encompasses all revolutionary forces would stand a chance against the better armed, better trained and better led Spanish forces which had NO DIVIDED LEADERSHIP PROBLEMS. The Katipuneros leadership was centered on the local Sanggunian (Council) and not, as so many assume, in Bonifacio’s Manila Katipunan leadership. The Katipunan simply did not have the administrative infrastructure to form a united revolutionary government. It was rather a CONFEDERACY of small local governments that did what they pleased and were not obligated to cooperate with nor support the actions of other groups and certainly failed to do so in a practical sense much of the time.

Thus the Magdalo proposed the replacement of the Katipunan by a true unified revolutionary government. Bonifacio and the ‘

Magdiwang refused, treating it as a power grab. If it was a power grab, however, it would have been a power grab by the Cavite council which had more than proven itself as a highly effective combat unit, something which NEITHER Bonifacio nor the Magdiwang could claim.

Another reason given for forming a new revolutionary government, stated by General Edilberto Evangelista, was that there were far more non-Katipuneros in their ranks than initiated Katipuneros. The revolution had outstripped the Katipunan organizational structure.

Evangelista was, by the way, the presidential candidate of choice of the young up-and-coming Magdalo general and mayor of Kawit, Emilio Aguinaldo. Evangelista was an ilustrado, highly educated and the man who arguably had the most to do with defeating former Governor General Ramon Blanco's massive Cavite offensive by constructing trenches that Spanish officers remarked were as good as European-built ones. He was, in Aguinaldo's eyes, the best man to lead a united revolutionary government.

The Magdiwang and Bonifacio refused and the debating at the Imus Convention ultimately ended without result when General Paciano Rizal arrived from Manila to report that his brother, legendary Doctor Jose Rizal, had been executed at Bagumbayan.

Thus at the beginning of 1897 the revolution still had no clear leader and no unified command structure that could organize local forces into proper divisions and corps, direct operations on a strategic scale and defend the disparate rebel strongholds against the Spanish counter-offensive that was already on the march.

Zapote Bridge, entry point to Cavite and Southern Tagalog

Colorized 1920s photo of Carmen Aguinaldo, the daughter of President Emilio Aguinaldo

A classic 1920s photo of Carmen Aguinaldo the daughter of the 1st Philippine President Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Digitally colorized by Jonjon Diquiatco Valle.

Cavite Trenches and Fortifications

Part of a research article on how the revolution was fought that Angelo Jarin Aguinaldo did for a research journal is a section on the vital role trenches palyed during the first phase of the revolution.

Mariano Alvarez, town president of Noveleta, realizing the benefits of the trenches ordered the fortification of the town along the coast. This was in preparation for the expected retaliation of the Spanish forces under Ramon Blanco.

Kalaw (1997) also related the presence of these trenches in the victory of Binakayan:

“Noong Nobyembre 9, sinimulang sumalakay ang hanay ng mga tauhang pinamumunuan ni Heneral Rios patungong Binakayan at Noveleta…SI Koronel Marina ay sumugod sa Binakayan, mula sa Pulborista, ngunit naharangan siya ng matibay at parisukat na tambak na lupang ligid ng kanal, na may barandilya at bambang sa nasasanggahan ng mga moog sa sulukan ng dagat at ng daang patungo Imus.”

Known to have built such kind of trenches is Edilberto Evangelista, a Belgian-trained Filipino civil engineer who came to Aguinaldo’s headquarters in Zapote in November, 1896. Evangelista was later appointed general director of natural resources and assigned to take charge of the construction of trenches.

Here is what Kalaw says about the trenches that Evangelista designed:

“Ang kuta ng mga manghihimagsik sa Cavite, na itinayo sa Aromahan, Zapote at sa Cavite Viejo, ginawa sa ilalim ng pangangasiwang teknikal ni Edilberto Evangelista, na nagtapos na inihinyera sibil sa Unibersidad ng Ghent, at kararating lamang mula sa Europa. Napakahusay ng pagkakagawa ng kuta kaya’t sinabi ng isang manunulat na Espanyol na ito na raw ang kutang pandarating ng panahon na dahil sa tibay ay hindi mawawasak o malusob ng mga kawal Espanyol.”

A fortification made by Filipino forces in Noveleta (Cavite), a crucial one since the town is a few kilometers away from the Spanish arsenal.https://archive.org/details/campaadefilipi00montuoft

The Caviteños, according to Corpuz (1997), built good defense works with strong embankments and trenches. The defense works in the Dalahican (Calero)-Binakayan was a major factor in repulsing the Blanco offensive. They also built extensive trenches in Zapote (Las Piñas) since it was the jumping-off point for enemy forces coming from Manila that would attack Bacoor in northern Cavite. By January 1897, the Zapote trenches extended to eight kilometers. These trenches and fortificaiond also served as refuge to townspeople. An example of this kind was the one built by the townfolks of Cavite Viejo. The fortification as described by Aguinaldo measures 600 meters long, six meters wide, four meters high, and three meters thick.

A fortification made by Filipino forces in Noveleta (Cavite), a crucial one since the town is a few kilometers away from the Spanish arsenal.https://archive.org/details/campaadefilipi00montuoft

This northern Cavite trenches were later redesigned and improved by Edilberto Evangelista. Before Evangelista came to Aguinaldo’s headquarters, the construction of trenches in Zapote between Manila and Cavite were constructed under the direct supervision of Aguinaldo. In his memoirs, Aguinaldo cited the cooperation of Licerio Topacio, Mariano Noriel, Gil Ignacio and others.

The eastern boundaries of Cavite were likewise fortified. Aguinaldo, on November 13, 1896, ordered the construction of trenches and fortifications on Sungay mountain to the south, and along the road to Carmona on the east. The trenches were constructed in gorges and narrow passes. The fortifications were effective in delaying the advance of the Lachambre Division in February 1897 to the mentioned area (Achutegui and Bernad, 1972, p. 58).

The area near the church of Bacoor was also fortified by the Filipino revolutionary forces. Because of its proximity to Las Pinas, Bacoor was the first town to be confronted by Spanish forces coming from Manila. https://archive.org/details/campaadefilipi00montuoft

Historical accounts truly indicate that the Filipinos were indeed poorly armed. Insufficient arms and ammunition was a challenge in fighting the Spanish Army, who, with their long arms and other superior weapons, seemed invincible.